1000 years of Thang Long

Thang Long Water Puppetry Theater sets Asian record

The Thang Long Water Puppetry Theatre in downtown Hanoi now holds the
Asian record for being the only theatre in Asia offering nonstop live
performances for 365 days. It is also responsible for introducing the
traditional art form to more than 50 countries. The Voice of Vietnam
Radio reports.

Vietnam’s Thang Long Puppetry
Theater has won recognition by the India-based Asian Book of Records for
“being the only theatre in Asia that performs water puppetry all 365
days of the year”. The recognition rewards the theatre’s effort to
preserve Vietnam’s traditional art and promote it worldwide.

Water puppetry is a unique folk stage art which is associated with
Vietnam’s wet rice civilisation and its history. Previously, water
puppetry was performed at the time of the lunar new year and other
traditional festivals. But performances now occur every day at the 57B
Dinh Tien Hoang street, right in the heart of Hanoi.

Over the past 20 years, the Thang Long Puppetry Theatre has been
enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of visitors, including foreigners who
want to explore the Vietnamese culture. Despite a decline in the
popularity of traditional theatre, the puppetry theatre is lit up every
night and packed with spectators.

Meritorious
artist Chu Luong, Deputy Director of the theatre, said: “Our theatre
works all year around to entertain, introduce and promote the most
distinctive feature of Vietnamese culture: water puppetry. This is a
highlight of Hanoi’s cultural scene. This is the 20th consecutive year
that we have been involved in this job and set the Asian record.”

The theater impresses visitors with an installation of colorful
puppets at the entrance. The water puppetry performances have been
adapted from nearly 400 folk tales, depicting the history of Vietnam and
people’s daily lives. There are favorite scenes like farmers ploughing,
a buffalo boy playing the flute, and fishermen catching fish. Some
stories require special techniques like a dragon waggling violently and
breathing fire, a fox climbing a tree and fishermen casting their net
into the river. Young puppeteers are encouraged to diversify their
performances, contributing to the success of the theatre.

Young puppeteer Bach Quoc Khanh said: “I think the Thang Long Puppetry
Theatre’s full operation all year round is a happiness and mental
encouragement for the artists amidst the difficulties facing Vietnam’s
traditional stage art. This is not only a source of pride for the
artists of the Thang Long Puppetry Theatre but also other Vietnamese
folk artists.”

The shows are attractive to
foreigners because they reflect the pure Vietnamese soul through music,
costumes, customs, and farm work. As word spreads, the theatre’s
audiences are growing and the number of shows is increasing. Artist
Luong said: “Each day there are six or seven performances – never less
than four shows a day. Our audience is mostly tourists and children. We
have also made performance tours in remote areas, where water puppetry
is still less popular.”

Each year, the Thang Long
Puppetry Theatre stages about 4,000 shows. Since 1992, the puppeteers
have performed in nearly 50 countries and participated in world renowned
festivals, making Vietnamese puppetry better known to foreigners.-VNA